2016 RIO OLYMPICS: HISTORY OF BOXING IN THE SUMMER GAMES PART III 2016 RIO OLYMPICS: HISTORY OF BOXING IN THE SUMMER GAMES PART III By Maloney L. Samaco PhilBoxing.com Wed, 20 Jul 2016 In London in 1948 very strong southpaw fighter Laszlo Papp made his Olympic debut where he won the first of his three successive Olympic golds. The Hungarian also grabbed the light middleweight gold medals in the 1952 and 1956 Games, becoming the first athlete to win three Olympic boxing titles which was later equalled by Cubans Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon. Papp was the first Soviet bloc fighter to turn professional. He once said, "I fight for money, but I am not greedy. How many steaks can one man eat?" During the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, 17-year-old Floyd Patterson, fighting from Brooklyn, New York, won four bouts en route to the finals.

In the gold medal match, Patterson knocked his opponent Romanian Vasile Tita out in just 74 seconds with an uppercut to the chin. Patterson turned pro and became the youngest heavyweight champion in the world at age 21 until Mike Tyson broke the record at age 20. In the 1956 Melbourne Games, an American soldier named Pete Rademacher from Yakima, Washington, faced mighty Soviet Russian Lev Mukhin in the finals. Mukhin won all three of his bouts by knockout or TKO, and was a heavy favorite to win the gold medal. But Rademacher reversed the outcome as he knocked down Mukin in 50 seconds, then twice more in the next 80 seconds. When he turned professional Rademacher would face Floyd Patterson in his debut. He floored Patterson in the second round, but lost the fight in Round 6. Winning the light heavyweight gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics, Cassius Clay began a step toward becoming the most popular and quotable athlete in the world.

Clay, then age 18, gave the world a preliminary glance of his extraordinary skill in the ring and likewise his speaking finesse, when a Soviet journalist asked him about racial descrimination in America he answered: "Russian, we got qualified men working on that problem. We got the biggest and the prettiest cars. We got all the food we can eat. America is the greatest country in the world, and as far as places I can't eat goes, I got lots of places I can eat, more places I can than I can't." Four years later, Clay, this time named Muhammad Ali, won his first world heavyweight title. Joe Frazier at first was not included in the US boxing team to the 1964 Tokyo Games, Asia's first Olympic Games. But a broken knuckle caused Buster Mathis to withdraw, so Frazier came as a substitute. The Philadelphia native heavyweight boxer, won a decision by a slim margin over West German Hans Huber in the final match, despite fighting hurt with a broken hand. Smokin' Joe Frazier was the only boxing finalist for the United States in the 1964 Games and later became a world heavyweight champion as a professional.

In the 1968 Games in Mexico, George Foreman was practically a beginner in the sport of boxing with only 18 matches in his experience. But he came out the heavyweight gold medal winner. After the Games, Foreman was on the headlines as a professional boxer in a colorful career that included a first world title in 1973, a historic bout with Muhammad Ali in the "Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974, and as an unbelievable world champion in 1994 at age 45. Boxing Boxing comment THE 11 EVENTS (all men) Categories: Light-flyweight (48 kg), flyweight (51 kg), bantamweight (54 kg), featherweight (57 kg), lightweight (60 kg), light-welterweight (64 kg), welterweight (69 kg), middleweight (75 kg), light-heavyweight (81 kg), heavyweight (91 kg), super-heavyweight (+ de 91 kg) THE FORMAT In each category: qualifying, quarter-final, semi-final and final. MILESTONES Fist fighting appears at Ancient Games.

1745 Jack Broughton takes the first step to reforming the brutal sport (boxing bare-fisted) by forming a set of rules. 1805 The Englishman Jim Belcher ties a white hankerchief to the ropes in the ring during a fight. Henceforth, this hankerchief evolved to the size of a towel which was later used by trainers to end a fight by "throwing in the towel". 1904 Boxing features for the first time at the Olympic Games in 1904 (St. Louis). 1956 The Hungarian Laszlo Papp becomes the first pugilist to win three Olympic titles (1948 - middleweight), 1952 and 1956 (super-welterweight). 1980 The Cuban heavyweight, Teofilo Stevenson, becomes the first boxer to win three consecutive Olympic titles in the same division (1972, 1976 and 1980). 2000 The Olympic boxing bouts at Sydney are held over four two-minute rounds instead of three three-minute rounds. Fighters are still permitted a minute's rest between rounds.

STARS Sugar Ray Robinson (United States) A 25-year career! World champion in the welterweight division between 1946 and 1951 and then middleweight champion in 1951, and from 1955 to 1958. 174 victories in 199 fights. Rocky Marciano (United States) The only unbeaten champion. He kept his title between 1952 and 1956 and was unbeaten in 49 fights. He won 43 by knockout. Muhammad Ali/Cassius Clay (United States) "The greatest". Olympic middle heavyweight champion as an 18-year-old in 1960 under the name of Cassius Clay. World heavyweight champion. 22 title fights from 1964 to 1967 and then 1974 to 1978. 56 wins in 61 fights. A born-provocator, he converted to Islam and changed his name in 1964.

Boxing 101: Olympic history | NBC Olympics Boxing 101: Olympic history Tumblr From boxing's Olympic debut in 1904 to the addition of women's divisions in 2012, what were the sport's biggest highlights? Jump to a section: 1904 | 1908 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 St. Louis, 1904 The sweet science made its Olympic debut on the shores of the Mississippi, but there were not very many competitors, and no foreign athletes participated. As a result, Americans won all seven possible gold medals (and all other medals).

Oliver Kirk, victorious in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions, is the only boxer in history to win two titles at a single Games. London, 1908 Reginald "Snowy" Baker of Australia was the only non-British boxer to win a medal, taking silver in the middleweight category. After losing the final on points to John Douglas, Baker complained that the referee had not been completely impartial. And Baker had reason to be suspicious - the referee was Douglas' father. The multi-talented Baker also competed in springboard diving and the 4x200m freestyle at the 1908 Games. Antwerp, 1920 Born in Cleveland, Ohio, welterweight Bert Schneider and his family moved to Montreal when he was 9. Schneider, who was unaware of boxing's place in the Olympic program, discovered he had been chosen for the Canadian team when he opened up the morning newspaper. He would go on to win gold. Share At the 1924 Games, Norway's Otto von Porat defeated Denmark's Soren Petersen for the heavyweight gold medal.

Credit: IOC Paris, 1924 The featherweight class featured a final bout with two Americans, Jackie Fields and Joe Salas. The two were best friends back in their native Los Angeles. Recalled Salas, "We had to dress in the same room. When they knocked on the door to call us to the fight, we looked up at each other and started to cry and hugged. Ten minutes later we were beating the hell out of each other." Fields won the bout, and the two remained lifelong friends. Amsterdam, 1928 Disputed decisions in Amsterdam led to brawls among spectators outside the ring. One notable scuffle involved 16-year-old American Hyman Miller, who was declared a surprise first-round loser in the flyweight class. An outraged U.S. boxing team sought to withdraw all of its competitors, but Major-General Douglas MacArthur, then-President of the U.S. Olympic Committee, wouldn't allow it, insisting "Americans never quit." Share Seven of the eight gold medalists from the 1932 Games are seen here. Standing: Alberto Lovell (ARG), Dave Carstens (RSA), Carmen Barth (USA), Eddie Flynn (USA).

Crouching: Laurie Stevens (RSA), Lefty Gwynne (CAN), Carmelo Robledo (ARG). Credit: IOC Los Angeles, 1932 American Edward Flynn took one of two U.S. golds, his coming in the welterweight division. Following the Olympics, Flynn turned professional with the goal of raising capital to finance his way through dental school. Eventually setting up a practice in Tampa, Flynn remarked on his days as a boxer, "I got kind of sick of putting on gloves and hitting some fellow in the face when I've got nothing against him." Berlin, 1936 South African lightweight Thomas Hamilton-Brown lost a first-round split decision, but got a second chance upon discovery that one of the judges had reversed his scores and that Brown actually was the winner. To take the edge off his initial disappointment, however, Brown went on an eating binge. Despite last minute attempts to sweat out the extra pounds, he was unable to make weight for his next fight and was disqualified. Share South Africa's George Hunter defeated Great Britain's Don Scott in a light heavyweight Gold Medal Match at the 1948 Olympics.

Credit: IOC London, 1948 Powerful southpaw Laszlo Papp made his Olympic debut and won the first of three successive Olympic titles. The Hungarian took home the middleweight crown in 1948 and earned light middleweight gold medals in 1952 and 1956, becoming the first man to win three Olympic boxing titles - the feat was later equaled by Cubans Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon. Papp, the first Soviet bloc fighter to compete professionally, once said, "I fight for money, but I am not greedy. How many steaks can one man eat?" Share Hungary's Laszlo Papp won his second of three gold medals at the 1952 Games. Credit: IOC Helsinki, 1952 17-year-old Floyd Patterson, one of 11 children from Brooklyn, New York, cruised through four bouts en route to the finals. In the gold medal match, Patterson knocked his opponent Vasile Tita out in 74 seconds with an uppercut to the chin.

Patterson would later go on to become the youngest heavyweight champion in the world (at 21) until Mike Tyson did it at the age of 20. Melbourne, 1956 American Pete Rademacher, a solider from Yakima, Washington, fought Soviet Russia's Lev Mukhin in the finals. Mukhin won all three of his bouts by knockout or TKO, and was a favorite heading into the Gold Medal Match. Yet Rademacher proved victorious, knocking down Mukin 50 seconds in, then twice more in the next 80 seconds. Rademacher would later go on to fight Floyd Patterson in his professional debut. Though he knocked Patterson to the canvas in the second round, he would lose the bout in Round 6. Share Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali) stood atop the podium at the 1960 Olympics. Credit: IOC Rome, 1960 Winning light heavyweight gold at the 1960 Games, 18-year-old Cassius Clay took a first step toward becoming the most visible and quotable athlete in the world.

In Rome, Clay gave an early glimpse of his prowess in the ring and his comfort in front of a microphone, offering this answer to a Soviet journalist who asked the Louisville-native about segregation in the American South: "Russian, we got qualified men working on that problem. We got the biggest and the prettiest cars. We got all the food we can eat. America is the greatest country in the world, and as far as places I can't eat goes, I got lots of places I can eat, more places I can than I can't." Four years later, Clay - known as Muhammad Ali - won his first world heavyweight title. Share At the 1968 Olympics, George Foreman gave the United States its second consecutive heavyweight gold medal. Credit: IOC Mexico City, 1968 George Foreman, a greenhorn in boxing circles with only 18 matches under his belt, emerged from inner-city Houston to win the heavyweight gold medal.

After the Games, Foreman embarked on a professional boxing career that included a first world title in 1973, a spot opposite Muhammad Ali in the "Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974, and an improbable championship in 1994 at age 45. Munich, 1972 Welterweight Emilio Correa - the 19-year-old Pan American champion - defeated European titleholder Janos Kajdi, 5-0 in a close but unanimous decision. (Correa's son, Emilio Correa Jr., won silver at the Beijing Games 36 years later.) The Munich Games also marked the debut of Teofilo Stevenson, who is detailed in the Moscow, 1980 history section. Montreal, 1976 "Sugar" Ray Leonard, a 20-year-old light welterweight from Maryland, pulled out a tough 5-0 decision against Cuba's Andres Aldama to win the gold medal. Leonard, fighting with photos of his girlfriend and their 2-year-old son pinned to his socks, was emotional afterward, announcing, "This is my last fight. My journey has ended.

My dream is fulfilled." Leonard changed his mind a few months later, turning professional and going on to win the welterweight world title in 1979. Leonard was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 1980s, when he held titles in the welterweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. Moscow, 1980 Cuba's Teofilo Stevenson became just the second boxer (after Hungary's Laszlo Papp) to win three Olympic gold medals. Stevenson, a heavyweight who dominated in Munich and Montreal, failed for the first time to knock out an opponent when Hungary's Istvan Levai eluded the powerful Cuban throughout their semifinal bout. Stevenson, who'd won all nine of his previous Olympic fights by knockout, also went the distance in the final, defeating Soviet Pyotr Zayev by a 4-1 decision. Share After being disqualified at the 1984 Olympics, Evander Holyfield went on become the only four-time heavyweight world champion. Credit: IOC Los Angeles, 1984 With the mighty Soviets and Cubans boycotting, U.S.

boxers won 52 of 55 bouts - and nine gold medals - at the 1984 Games. One American who didn't triumph was light heavyweight Evander Holyfield, who was disqualified in his semifinal bout. The DQ, for hitting his opponent after being told to stop, was protested vigorously, but unsuccessfully. The loss relegated Holyfield to bronze, though few doubted that he belonged atop the podium. Gold medalist Anton Josipovic of Yugoslavia pulled Holyfield to the top of the podium during the medal ceremony. Seoul, 1988 Bedlam broke out in Seoul when the host nation's bantamweight, Byun Jong-Il, lost a disputed preliminary bout. The boxer's coach and assistant, joined by a group of rabid fans, rushed into the ring and roughed up referee Keith Walker of New Zealand, who had penalized Byun two points for butting. When the chaos subsided, Byun staged a 67-minute sit-down protest, eclipsing the unofficial Olympic record set by countryman Choh Dong-Kih in 1964.

(Choh had remained in the ring for 51 minutes after being disqualified from a bout in Tokyo.) In the aftermath of Byun's stunt, South Korean Olympic Committee President Kim Chong-Ha resigned, accepting full responsibility. Byun went on to fight professionally and in 1993 won the WBC bantamweight title. Barcelona, 1992 Oscar de la Hoya won America's lone boxing title in Barcelona, launching a brilliant career further studded by multiple world titles. De la Hoya, a Mexican-American from Los Angeles, dedicated his Olympic gold to his mother, who had died of cancer two years earlier. De La Hoya was raised on the sweet science - his grandfather, Vicente, was an amateur featherweight in Durango, Mexico, and his father, Joel, was a professional lightweight in Durango during the 1960s. Atlanta, 1996 With David Reid, America's lone boxing finalist in Atlanta, trailing 15-5 in the third round, it looked all but official that the U.S. would fail to win a boxing gold medal for the first Olympics since 1948.

But 36 seconds into the third round, Reid avoided a right hook from Cuban Alfredo Duvergel and landed one of his own to send Duvergel to the canvas for a knockout. The instant victory prompted a congratulatory hug from a famous observer - Muhammad Ali - who whispered in Reid's ear, "You're a baaaad boy." Reid also shared an emotional embrace with U.S. coach Al Mitchell, the fighter's personal coach from the beginning of his career. Sydney, 2000 Cuban Felix Savon, 33, claimed his third consecutive heavyweight crown to join former sparring partner and countryman Teofilo Stevenson as the only boxers to win three Olympic golds in one weight class. (Hungary's Laszlo Papp also won three titles, but in two weight classes). Having dominated the heavyweight division for nearly 15 years, Savon pummeled American Michael Bennett, 18-3, in a much-anticipated second-round bout. He later overcame a cut under his left eye in the final to cement his Olympic immortality.

Athens, 2004 After being shutout of the gold-medal hunt in Sydney, there were no major expectations of U.S. boxing entering these Games. But light heavyweight Andre Ward provided a golden moment. The 20-year-old from Oakland, who vowed beforehand "No silver, no bronze," stunned 6-foot-6 Russian world champion Yevgeny Makarenko in the quarterfinals. Ward, who like Makarenko had not lost a bout in five years, confused his burly opponent by switching from southpaw to a right-handed stance. Ward won a 17-15 decision over Utkirbek Haydarov of Uzbekistan in the semifinals, and came from behind after two rounds to decision Magomed Aripgadijiev of Belarus, 20-13, in the final. Beijing, 2008 In keeping with tradition, boxing at the Beijing Games was riddled with controversy. Flyweight Rau'shee Warren, competing in his second Games, entered as a favorite to take the division. In his first bout, Warren, thinking he was well ahead in points, spent a majority of the final round avoiding contact.

The judges disagreed, and the match went to Korean Lee Ok-Sung. Chinese Light Heavyweight Zhang Xiaoping took home gold after a 11-7 win in the final match over Ireland's Kenneth Egan. Multiple points in Egan's favor failed to be recorded, resulting in the controversial ending. Share The debut of women's boxing in 2012 featured the ascension of young American Claressa Shields. Credit: Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports London, 2012 In a milestone year for Olympic boxing, women's competitions were added to the program for the first time ever, allowing new stars to be born. Among them was 17-year-old American Claressa Shields , who won the women's middleweight division and became the youngest Olympic boxing champion since 1924. Ireland's Katie Taylor earned gold in women's lightweight and was one of the most popular fighters of the tournament, with a boisterous crowd cheering her on during every match. Great Britain's Nicola Adams won the other women's division, flyweight, and was one of three British fighters overall to earn boxing gold on home soil. Great Britain's three gold medals led all countries. Share Who was the greatest Olympic boxer of all-time?

- Boxing News July 4, 2016 BN Staff Who was the greatest Olympic boxer of all-time? Chris Kempson delivers his verdict on who was the greatest Olympic boxer of all-time Who was the greatest Olympic boxer of all-time? Chris Kempson delivers his verdict on who was the greatest Olympic boxer of all-time Action Images Don’t miss any action. Sign up for the free BN newsletter(s) here AS we approach the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil , we have on record only three boxers who have won three Olympic Games gold medals. Sadly of those three only Cuban Felix Savon is still with us; Hungarian Laszlo Papp and Cuban Teofilo Stevenson have both died, although like Savon their Olympic legacy remains with us still and will always be so. I was just five years old when Papp strutted his Olympic stuff for the first time here in London in the “Austerity Games” of 1948 but nine when he repeated his gold medal triumph in the Finnish capital of Helsinki in 1952 and first really became aware of his great achievements in Melbourne in 1956. A long time ago and often my old bones remind me of this.

The first of his gold medals was won at middleweight, the next two at light-middleweight. In addition, he also won seven Hungarian titles and two European titles in his amateur days. He was, undoubtedly, Europe’s premier amateur boxing star during his long amateur campaign. Laszlo Papp was born in Budapest on 25 March 1926, under a parliamentary democracy system with Admiral Horthy acting as Regent, the country came under the grip of the old Soviet Union after the fall of Nazi Germany and the Communist Party was installed and ruled throughout and beyond both Papp’s amateur and subsequent professional careers. He boxed in the early days of the “Cold War” between the Western and Eastern powers and success by particularly those aligned with the then Soviet Union – as Hungary was then- was seen as a triumph for their political system over their would be adversaries. It was important for those Eastern Bloc countries that they had sporting success and no expense was spared to see that their athletes and boxers etc had every opportunity to do so. It was a fine time for Hungarian sport with their “Magnificent Magyars” excelling far too often on the football field for many British fans liking!

Papp was a southpaw and like all true champions, he could box and punch, he possessed a very potent left hook, moved well and he also had a decent chin too, which helped make him the first and so far the only European to win three Olympic gold medals. Later on he became the first boxer from the old Soviet Bloc countries to punch for pay in the professional ring, but more of that later on. He seemed to move between light-middleweight and middleweight seamlessly, the true hallmark of a top class performer and entertainer. Some have pointed to the inevitable statistical queries over Papp’s amateur record, but not too much difference exists overall between the various statistical scribes, who often tend to record 301 victories and twelve losses with six drawn contests as was possible in those far off days. Most agree that he recorded 55 first round knockouts in his amateur days. So we shall leave it there. In London in 1948 he had to box five times for middleweight gold medal glory. Three of his victories came inside the distance, the other two triumphs in the semi-final and the final itself came via points decisions, in each case unanimous decisions from the judges.

In his opening bout Papp knocked out Finland’s Valle Resko in round two, next up was Luxembourg’s, Jean Welter who was stopped in the opening session, while in the quarter-final, Spain’s Auguste Cavignac was knocked out in the first round. In the semi-final. Italy’s Ivano Fontana went the distance but Papp prevailed winning all three rounds. In the final he met the host country’s Johnny Wright and it was a tough contest for both men, Wright doing very well, but the Hungarian maestro prevailed, taking all three rounds to gain his first Olympic title. Helsinki, Finland, provided the setting for the 1952 Games and it was where the Soviets and their Eastern Bloc satellite countries began to how their ring prowess in earnest. Papp now moving down to light-middleweight, won this Olympic crown with a similar menu of victories as four years previously. Two North American boxers felt the force of his punches in series one and two of this tournament. In his opening bout Papp knocked out America’s Ellsworth “Spider” Webb in the second round and repeated this feat over Canadian, Charlie Chase in the second series.

Bulgaria’s Peter Stankoff Spassoff went the distance only to lose, with all three rounds going to the Olympic champion. In the semi-final Argentina’s Eladio Oscar Herrera was also around to hear the final bell but dropped a decision to Papp, who again took all three sessions. In the Olympic final South Africa’s Theunis Jacobus Schalkwyk gave his best but suffered a similar fate to Spassoff and Herrera, losing all three rounds. So Papp had done it again and won his second Olympic title. Down Under, in Melbourne in 1956, Papp made it three Olympic gold medals in a row, when he successfully defended his light-middleweight crown, making him the first man to win three gold medals in a row in the Olympic boxing ring. He started his defence in Melbourne at the quarter-final stage, when Alberto Saenz of the Argentine was knocked out in the third round, leaving Papp to box the fabulous Pole, Zbigniew Pietrzykowski in the semi-final, which he won, taking all three rounds. The final against America’s tough Puerto Rican born Jose Torres was arguably the hardest and closest of all of Papp’s Olympic contests.

Torres who later became WBC and WBA world light-heavyweight champion in the paid ranks ran Papp close to a split decision, the Hungarian taking two rounds to Torres’s one. Torres couldn’t quite fathom out Papp’s southpaw style, but he became the only boxer ever to take a round off Papp in the latter’s Olympic exploits. Papp won two bouts against Pietrzykowski to the Pole’s one, which curiously enough was Papp’s final bout before defending his crown in Melbourne, when the Pole stopped Papp in the second round of the Copa Varsovia in Poland- you see he was beatable after all! But when it really mattered in the Olympic semi-final, a couple of months later, he beat the Pole on his way to his final Olympic glory. What more could he do in the amateur code, people were asking? Papp sometimes mused that he would go to Rome in 1960 for “four in a row” but he really wanted to earn some money from his considerable talent and who could blame him.

The Hungarian authorities let him become the first Soviet Bloc boxer to punch for pay; but as professional boxing was banned in Hungary, he would have to do it elsewhere in Europe which is actually what he did, usually basing himself in Vienna for his contests. He made his professional debut in May 1957 and when he called it a day in late 1964, he had won the EBU middleweight title and defended it successfully six times. He finished his paid career undefeated with 27 victories and two draws. Fifteen of his triumphs came inside the distance. Sadly, those communist authorities who had given him the “nod” to box professionally abroad, were eventually to deny him a visa to leave the country, when he was on the cusp of a world title shot with the American, Joey Giardello. So neither he nor us never knew whether or not he could have finally cut it at the top of the professional tree as he had done so magnificently in his amateur days. Communist politics of that day thus denying one of its own citizens the opportunity to box for a world professional crown how sad and disappointing for him and for them too!

Were they afraid that he might lose or were they afraid that if he triumphed, he might overshadow their political ideology and dogma with his final achievement with the money he would have earned, we will never know? History will say surely he should have been given his chance to try to do so. He made waves in both areas of the world of boxing, the amateur and professional codes alike. He could only meet and invariably beat those before him. He was a great boxer in his particular era. In my eyes there is always something special about someone achieving a monumental feat for the first time in whatever field it may be, amateur boxing is no exception. He died in October 2003, aged seventy-seven and undoubtedly boxing was the poorer for his passing. Teofilo Stevenson Lawrence (Teofilo Stevenson) was born in Cuba on 29 March 1952, he was three months old when Papp won his second gold medal in Helsinki! He was to become only the second amateur boxer to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals, a huge feat in any particular era and his place in Olympic boxing history is determined by his ring successes which we will learn more about below.

In fact he was the first boxer to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in one weight division, readers will call how Papp won a gold at middleweight and two at light-middleweight. Stevenson, like Papp before him, was nurtured by the communist regime, in Cuba’s case a Marxist-Leninist doctrine introduced by Fidel Castro in 1959. Although professional sports were banned in Cuba, he became a sportsman whose role and work was to undertake success in amateur boxing, which he did to a remarkable effect. Sporting success gave credence to communist ideology that their way was better and more successful than various types of western democracy. He began his boxing career at the tender age of fourteen in 1966 and his initial real international success came about with a bronze medal in the Pan American Games of 1971 in the heavyweight division. By 1972, he had won his first gold medal in the Olympic games. The Cubans burst on to the Olympic boxing stage in Munich with three gold medals, in addition to his own, Stevenson was also awarded the Val Barker trophy. He was the first Cuban to be awarded this particularly coveted trophy.

He had signalled his presence and was about to dominate Olympic and World Amateur championships for the foreseeable future. He boxed three times for Olympic gold in Munich and had a walk over in the final, perhaps not the best way to become an Olympic champion, but nevertheless he had earned his initial slot in amateur boxing history. Poland’s Ludik Denderys was stopped in the opening round in his first contest, then followed the American , Duane Bobick, a hot favourite for the gold medal and who had earlier beaten his Cuban rival in winning a Pan American Game gold medal. Stevenson, had obviously learned from this loss and dominated the bout, outboxing, outpunching and finally stopping Bobick in the third round. West Germany’s useful, Peter Hussing was stopped in two rounds in the semi-final and a broken thumb ruled out Romania’s, Ion Alexe, to leave Teofilo as champion. Two years later, in 1974, he confirmed his dominance of the heavyweight division, by winning a gold medal at the World Amateur Championships. In 1975 he won gold for the first time taking the Pan American Games heavyweight crown.

Then in 1976 it was on to Montreal to defend his heavyweight crown, which he did in some style. Four stoppage victories was all he needed to bag gold medal number two. The punishing left jab and the ferocious right hand ensured victory in Canada, let’s see who his victims were then: Senegal’s Mamadou Drame was knocked out in the second round; Pekka Ruokola of Finland was knocked out in the first round; while in the semi-final, highly touted American, big John Tate was knocked out inside a round. In the final, the very game and tough Romanian Mircea Simon was halted in the third round and Stevenson had retained his crown in awesome style. There was really nobody to touch him in those days, he was so good, he really was. In 1978, he won gold at the World Amateur Championships in the heavyweight division (his second triumph) and a year later he collected another Pan American heavyweight gold medal (also his second triumph). So he moved on to Moscow in 1980, where there was a considerable boycott from countries like USA and a number of their western allies, but not by Team GB.

He was twenty-eight years of age then, but his destructive powers were still there, only if in the early stages of this tournament. Nigeria’s Solomon Ataga was knocked out in the opening round, while Poland’s Gregorz Skrecz was halted in the third round of their bout. Some commentators then wondered if his ferocious power was beginning to desert him as the Cuban maestro needed the full nine minutes in each of his semi-final and final bouts over Hungary’ s Istvan Levai (5-0) and the Soviet Union’s Piotr Zaev (4-1) respectively to end up a three-time Olympic heavyweight kingpin. Could he have won a fourth title was the question on many fans lips? He was denied that opportunity courtesy of the boycott by the Soviet led Bloc of the Los Angeles Games in 1984 as part of the tit-for–tat protests against some of the western countries boycott of the Moscow Games in 1980. Perhaps he was denied becoming a four-time Olympic gold medallist, we shall never know, but in all truth it cannot easily be discounted.

He did win a third World Amateur Championship gold medal in 1986 at super-heavyweight as another great Cuban heavyweight, Felix Savon (more on him later) was then occupying their domestic, international and world heavyweight berths. Retirement followed in 1988 after the Seoul Olympics, which Cuba had boycotted.. His work in the ring was done and happily most scribes put his record as winning 302 contests and losing 22 and there seems to be reasonable enough agreement on this. He did have those who could it seems have the upper hand on him, notably a former one time Soviet Union heavyweight champion, Igor Vysotsky, with good enough credentials but not really a top ranking performer. Vysotsky got a 3-2 decision over Stevenson in 1973 and three years later stopped the Cuban in the third round. The Cuban never avenged these two defeats. Italy’s Francesco Damiani outscored (5-0) Stevenson at the World Amateur Championships in 1982 in the super-heavyweight category. So he was not infallible, but like all of the greatest champions he could do the business when it mattered most and you cannot ask for more.

Vysotsky was Stevenson’s kind of nemesis but boxing fans will remember Stevenson for years to come, I doubt whether Igor Vysotsky will remain in their vocabulary for very long. A fabulous Olympic champion who stayed loyal to the amateur code and did not opt to punch for pay. Many suggestions were made over those years that he might box professionally against the likes of Muhammad Ali and indeed others besides, but they simply remained paper talk and in true Cuban traditions Teofilo resisted any temptations set by the multi -million dollar signs and remained a ‘true blue amateur’ for the whole of his career. Would I vote for him as the greatest amateur boxer, or amateur heavyweight boxer of all time, maybe, but then along came Cuba’s Felix Savon and he’s up next. Sadly, Stevenson was taken from us at a mere 60 years of age in June 2012 from heart disease, far too soon in my view. We will never see his like again but remember him fondly for all his many ring exploits in and out of the Olympic Games. Then, along came, Felix Savon Fabre (Felix Savon).

Born in Cuba on September 22 1967, he was around five years old when Teofilo Stevenson began to first strut his Olympic stuff in Munich in 1972, just to give a timeline for these giants of Cuban amateur boxing. He won three consecutive Olympic heavyweight gold medals, six gold medals at heavyweight in World Amateur Championships, as well as a silver in the 1999 world Championships, but more of the implications about this later on. He also won the Cuban National Championships thirteen times between 1985 to 1998. During this time, Savon defeated the following future professional world champions; Michael Bent, Ray Mercer, Shannon Briggs, Lamon Brewster, Ruslan Chagaev and Sultan Ibragimov. He also conquered fellow Olympic champions, Ray Mercer and two of his Cuban contemporaries namely Roberto Balado and Odlanier Solis. What a list of names to have on your boxing CV!!

There were three golden triumphs in the World Amateur Championships in the heavyweight division in Reno (1986), Moscow in 1989 and in Sydney in 1991, before his first assault on the Olympics was launched in 1992 in Barcelona. Readers will recall that qualifying tournaments were held for the Games in Barcelona to restrict the ever rising number of entrants. There had been 432 for Seoul in 1988. Which brings me to muse, whether had Cuba competed in the Seoul Games maybe Savon would have claimed his initial gold medal then. Cuba boycotted these Games, lining up with its ally North Korea who was ‘still at war’ with South Korea, along with a few other countries ‘friendly’ towards the relatively isolated North Koreans. In Barcelona, where headguards were now a permanent feature as were scoring machines, Savon boxed five times for the gold medal, only his opening bout ended early, with a second round stoppage of Poland’s Krysztof Rojek.

Germany’s Bert Teuchert was outscored 11-2, while in the quarter-final, Danell Nicholson of the USA ran him very close, Savon eventually winning 13-11. This was the closest contest in terms of a points decision in all of his Olympic exploits .The semi-final saw him triumph comfortably over Arnold Vanderlyde from the Netherlands 23-3 to set up a final clash with Nigerian, David Izonritei. Savon cruised to victory and his first Olympic gold medal with a scoreline of 14-1. Further World Amateur Championship gold medals were won at heavyweight in Tampere, Finland in 1993, in Berlin in 1995 and also in 1997 in Budapest, but there is quite a tale to this one and it goes like this: Savon made it to the final in 1997 where he boxed Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan who won by 14-4, this leaving Savon with a silver medal.

However, Savon was later awarded the gold medal when Chagaev was subsequently disqualified for having boxed professionally before boxing in the tournament in Hungary.Where would amateur boxing be without a measure from time to time of such intrigue? Rewinding just a little and back to Athens in 1996, he retained his Olympic heavyweight title, winning gold again after four contests, plus a walk over in the semi-final. In the first series, he outscored Andrei Kurnyavka of Kyrgyzstan 9-3 to get his campaign off to a good start. Next up Sweden’s Kwamena Turkson was knocked out in the opening round and then Georgia’s Georgi Kandelaki was comfortably outpointed 20-4. In the semi-final Savon received a walk over as his opponent Germany’s Luan Krasniqi suffered a cut under the eye in his previous bout and was advised not to box. In the final, Canada’s David Defiagbon was beaten 20-2 and gold medal number two was hung around Felix Savon’s neck.

A silver medal was obtained in the 1999 World Amateur Championships in Houston and again there was another measure of intrigue, albeit of a different kind for readers to contemplate. Reaching the final yet again, Savon having outscored Ruslan Chagaev 9-1 in a quarter final bout; Savon didn’t show up for the final. He forfeited the bout against America’s Michael Bennett when he and the rest of the Cuban team walked out from the championships in protest at what they considered to be unjust refereeing and judging decisions. What a huge price he paid but as a loyal team member he considered it his duty to abide by and go along with the Cuban team officials’ decision. It left the American Bennett with a very hollow victory. Who said poor decisions were a thing of the past, well they seemed to be alive and kicking in 1999, at least in the eyes of the Cubans? We can only speculate what might have happened had Bennett and Savon boxed in the final. The two men were to meet again the following year, but more of that a little later on.

So, we move onto Savon’s third and final tilt at another gold medal and the action takes us to Sydney, Australia in 2000. He boxed four times to land his third heavyweight gold medal. First up was a second round stoppage (outscored 18-3) against Nigeria’s Ojemaye Rasmus. Then came the showdown with America’s, Michael Bennett. Savon was really pumped up for this one, clearly Houston in 1999 was still fresh in his memory and he whupped Bennett with a third round stoppage outscored (23-8), so in Savon’s eyes and Cuba’s too, justice had been done and he had been avenged. In the semi-final Germany’s plucky, Sebastian Kober was outscored 14-8, to set up an interesting final clash with Russia’s tough and talented, Sultan Ibragimov. Their final was a very tough encounter, Savon was cut under the left eye, but he outclassed his opponent to win 21-13 and thus bag his third gold medal in the heavyweight division. He announced his retirement after the Games aged thirty-three.

He had also won four Pan American Games gold medals, four Central American and Caribbean gold medals and also four World Cup gold medals, was there anything else for him to win? Like, Stevenson before him, he resisted mega bucks attempts to lure him into the world of professional boxing scene in America, as often suggestions were made for him to get into the ring with Mike Tyson, but to no avail. He remained true to the headguard and vest, forsaking dollars for the honour and glory of winning many titles and the admiration of his President and his countrymen. He won 362 contests and lost 21, all of those defeats were subsequently avenged, some record and some boxer he surely was. Today, his family name and ring tradition is being carried on by his nephew, Erislandy Savon who is making his own waves with the Cuban boxing team. Now comes the hardest part for me, to make a decision, who was the greatest of those three Olympic greats. Such decisions are a matter of opinion and I am sure readers will have their own reasons for their own individual choices. My decision is thus: Number 1. Felix Savon; Number 2. Laszlo Papp and Number 3.

Teofilo Stevenson. Savon had the most complete record of the three men in my view. Papp cut it in both the amateur and professional worlds which is indeed very creditable and earned him second place. Stevenson was outstanding in his particular era and deserves his place in amateur boxing history, even if I have put him in third place, which, I hasten to add, is in no way disrespectful to his overall achievements. So let the debate commence and continue. Teofilo Stevenson | Cuban boxer | Britannica.com Alternative Title: Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence Teofilo Stevenson Nikolay Andrianov Teófilo Stevenson, (born March 29, 1952, Las Tunas , Oriente, Cuba —died June 11, 2012, Havana ), Cuban heavyweight boxer who became the first fighter to win three Olympic gold medals in one weight class and one of only two to win three World Amateur Boxing titles.

The 6-ft 3-in (1.9-m) Stevenson shocked the boxing world in the quarterfinals of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich by defeating the highly touted American Duane Bobick, who had beaten Stevenson the previous year in the Pan American Games . Stevenson won the gold medal by default when Ion Alexe of Romania was unable to fight in the final because of a broken thumb. At the 1976 Olympics in Montreal , Stevenson crushed his first three opponents in a record 7 min 22 sec, then knocked out Mircea Simon of Romania in the final. István Levai of Hungary used an evasive strategy in the semifinals of the 1980 Games in Moscow to become the first Olympic boxer to go the distance with Stevenson, but Stevenson prevailed and went on to win his third gold medal. Stevenson won three world amateur titles (as a heavyweight in 1974 and 1978 and as a super-heavyweight in 1986), a mark matched only by fellow Cubans Adolfo Horta and Félix Savón (who won six amateur titles).

Stevenson’s devastating left jab and powerful right would have been a serious challenge to the leading professional fighters of his day, and promoters actively sought to induce him to turn professional. However, in keeping with the doctrines of Cuba’s communist regime, he was staunchly opposed to the professional circuit, which he believed exploited fighters, and he remained an amateur until his retirement in 1987. Learn More in these related articles: in Olympic Games Felix Savon | Cuban boxer | Britannica.com Alternative Title: Felix Savón Fabré Felix Savon George Foreman Felix Savón , in full Felix Savón Fabré (born April 22, 1967, San Vicente , Cuba ), Cuban heavyweight boxer, who became the second fighter to win three Olympic gold medals in the same weight class and the first to capture six world amateur boxing titles. Savón, an imposing contender 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 metres) tall, rose to prominence in 1985 when he captured the heavyweight title at the world junior championships.

A year later he won the world championship, a feat he repeated in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1997. Unable to compete at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea , because of a Cuban boycott , he made his Olympic debut at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain, where he won a gold medal. He defended his title at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and, with his gold medal performance at the Games in Sydney , Australia, in 2000, Savón matched the feat of fellow countryman Teófilo Stevenson , who was the first boxer to win three gold medals in the same weight class. Savón also recorded first-place finishes in the Pan American Games (1987, 1991, and 1995) and the Goodwill Games (1990, 1994, and 1998).

Scheduled to fight in the final of the 1999 world championships, he pulled out of the match after the Cuban delegation claimed that it had been the victim of several questionable decisions during the competition. Savón turned down numerous offers to box professionally and was forced to retire in 2001 because of an International Amateur Boxing Association rule that prohibited amateurs from competing beyond their 34th birthday. He then became the coach of the Cuban national team, which won medals—including five gold—in 8 of the 11 weight classes at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Learn More in these related articles: London 2012 Olympics: boxing guide - Telegraph London 2012 Olympics: boxing guide Read Telegraph Sport's guide to the boxing event at the London 2012 Olympics. Team GB Photo: PA Male Olympic boxers will compete in 10 weight classes, from light flyweight to super heavyweight, while female boxers will contest three weight divisions (flyweight, lightweight, middleweight). The male bouts are contested over three three-minute rounds - compared to professional fights which last 12 rounds. Female bouts take place over four two-minute rounds.

The fighter who knocks out an opponent or scores the most points wins. Boxers score one point for every punch they land with the marked part of their glove on their opponent’s head or upper body. If three of the panel of five judges hit electronic buttons within a second of each other the boxer is awarded a point. Any boxer who moves more than 12 points ahead of an opponent automatically wins. This system differs from professional boxing where points are awarded based on each boxer’s overall performance in a round, not for each individual successful punch. The boxer judged to have won the round (normally the fighter who lands the most quality shots) is given 10 points, while the loser receives nine points. If the fight goes to points, the winner is the one with the highest accumulated score (i.e. the fighter who won the most rounds) as decided by the judges. Each boxer is given a corner, labelled red or blue. This is also the colour of the clothing they wear to fight. All fighters must also wear protective headgear, a key difference from professional boxing.

Events/discipline Men’s light flyweight 49kg, men’s flyweight 52kg, men’s light welterweight 64kg, men’s welterweight 69kg, men’s light heavyweight 81kg, men’s heavyweight 91kg, men’s super heavyweight + 91kg Gold medals available Image 1 of 2 The scoring system has its detractors, who claim that it discourages boxers from throwing combinations and rewards the tactic of taking a single shot at an opponent and then moving swiftly out of range. A solid defence and good counter-attacking skills often prove fruitful in Olympic boxing, meaning fights are often very tactical with both fighters waiting for the other to move forward. Often boxers who are leading a contest will slow down the pace of the down by holding onto their opponents - something which is discouraged and can lead to a fighter being docked points. What to say “I’m looking forward to seeing the latest Cuban sensation.” What not to say “Hang on, that can’t be right. I’m sure those two are women.” If it were a TV programme, it would be Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men. A host of characters whose pint you hope never to spill.

Boxing has featured in every Olympics since the 1912 Stockholm Games, when Swedish law banned it. This will be the first time in the sport’s 108-year history that women will compete. Many Olympic boxers have gone on to scale the heights in the professional sport, with Cassius Clay - later, of course, Muhammad Ali - the most notable. Great Britain are fourth in the overall medal table having won 48 medals, behind the former Soviet Union (51), Cuba (63) and the United States (109). Jargon Ring apron: The canvas area outside the ropes where judges choose the winners of rounds and where the boxers' cornermen sit. Throw in the towel: The traditional way to concede defeat; a boxer's cornermen will throw a towel into the ring when he feels his charge cannot continue. Southpaw: A left-handed boxer, who leads with the right hand. Belt: An imaginary line around a boxer’s midriff, below which his opponent is not allowed to hit. Jab: A straight, arm-length punch thrown from the boxer’s leading hand. Uppercut: An upwards-thrown punch designed to hit an opponent’s chin.

Hook: A sideways-thrown punch in which the boxer swings his arm from the shoulder with the elbow bent. Slap: An illegal blow landed with the open part of the glove (not the knuckle area). Standing eight count: A precautionary measure taken by the referee to allow a boxer to recover after receiving a heavy blow/series of blows. Legends Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon, of Cuba; Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay), gold medal winner in Rome in 1960; Lennox Lewis (then fighting for Canada); Sugar Ray Leonard; Oscar De La Hoya; Joe Frazier. Random fact Iranian boxer Ali Kazemi turned up for his light heavyweight bout at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics without his gloves and was duly disqualified. Trading hits: Britain's James Degale fights Mohamed Hikal of Egypt in the preliminary rounds of Beijing 2008 Photo: AP Medals targeted?

Question: Who was the first boxer to win three successive Olympic Heavyweight titles?
Answer: Teofilo Stevenson